The present invention relates to the field of computer graphics. In particular, this invention relates to the field of bit mapped computer graphics in which the computer memory stores data for each individual picture element or pixel of the display at memory locations that correspond to the location of that pixel on the display. The field of bit mapped computer graphics has benefitted greatly from the lowered cost per bit of dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The lowered cost per bit of memory enables larger and more complex displays to be formed in the bit mapped mode.
The reduction in the cost per bit of memory and the consequent increase in the capacity of bit mapped computer graphics has led to the need for processing devices which can advantageously use the bit mapped memory in computer graphics applications. In particular, a type of device has arisen which includes the capacity to draw simple figures, such as lines and circles, under the control of the main processor of the computer. In addition, some devices of this type include a limited capacity for bit block transfer (known as BIT-BLT or raster operation) which involves the transfer of image data from one portion of memory to another, together with logical or arithmetic combinations of that data with the data at the destination location within the memory.
These bit-map controllers with hard wired functions for drawings lines and performing other basic graphics operations represent one approach to meeting the demanding performance requirements of bit maps displays. The built-in algorithms for performing some of the most frequently used graphics operations provides a way of improving overall system performance. However, a useful graphics system often requires many functions in addition to those few which are implemented in such a hard wired controller. These additional required functions must be implemented in software by the primary processor of the computer. Typically these hard wired bit-map controllers permit the processor only limited access to the bit-map memory, thereby limiting the degree to which software can augment the fixed set of functional capacities of the hard wired controller. Accordingly, it would be highly useful to be able to provide a more flexible solution to the problem of controlling the contents of the bit mapped memory, either by providing a more powerful graphics controller or by providing better access to this memory by the system processor, or both.